Decisions decisions.

I think you should get a sharpened Darkswords. The Gothic is highly praised here, and Darksword armoury is sure far more reliable with the heat treatment and durability. But they will be a bit heavier then Gen2 would be.

Gen 2 aren't whippy at all.

As for sword choice, what do you want to do with it? Is it for display, light backyard cutting, heavy multiple mat cutting or any combination there of. So you care about historical accuracy? Is there an era your interested in? We need to know what you want in the sword before we can recommend on that fits your desires .

As for AoV sharpening service, they use a hand file to sharpen their sword (i.e. the only real proper way to do it) and so is done right. However, that 38 dollar isn't what they charge anymore as DSA are just too dang tough to sharpen. DSA will be offering a sharpening service of their own but they are gonna use a wheel...and how destructive that is to the heat tempering is unknown at this time. Basically if it was my sword I would pay the extra money for AoV to sharpen it the right way...but expect to pay for around 4 hours of labor...i.e. around 80 bucks or more.

A small break down.

The irish hand and a half has a very unique look. The grip is too round and if you want to do a lot of cutting, it may cause you to flub cuts as it is very hard for most people to get proper edge alignment with such a grip. AoV can shape and re-wrap the grip for you.

The lucerne...if you want to cut things and you don't have a lot of experience already DON'T get this sword. It is a type XVa...i.e. THE worst cutting type there is. However it is weighted and balanced like a cut and thrust longsword should be so if that is a style of sword you are interested in, it is the only real option from the list you mentioned.

The templar sword on the other hand is a GREAT cutting sword. It's a really fun sword to cut bottles and mats with.

The DSA across the board have uber tough blades. Their fitting have been in the past been kind of a joke. If they fixed it with the new run, I don't know yet. I hope so. They are also across the board too heavy by around half a pound or more from what is listed. A few of their swords (their fantasy line and norman and squire mostly) has a habit of gaining even MORE weight in transit...once again, hopefully fixed. Also the hundred year sword if you care isn't something you would have seen from the hundred year war era...at all. If you care about such things .

Gen 2 use to have some problems when they went from heavy clunky swords to more historical ones, but such issues have been resolved for a while now.

As for sword choice, what do you want to do with it? Is it for display, light backyard cutting, heavy multiple mat cutting or any combination there of. So you care about historical accuracy? Is there an era your interested in? We need to know what you want in the sword before we can recommend on that fits your desires .

As for use, probably a combination of everything. I want it use it to cut bottles and milk jugs and eventually move on to tatami mats.

For historical accuracy, I'm not going to be nitpicking, but I do want it to be somewhat based on a historical design and handle and perform as closely as possible.

Of course, I recommend some customized versions

Those are beautiful. Do you do that work yourself or where can I get it customized, and how much will it run? I'd love to have that Gothic in red.

The irish hand and a half has a very unique look. The grip is too round and if you want to do a lot of cutting, it may cause you to flub cuts as it is very hard for most people to get proper edge alignment with such a grip. AoV can shape and re-wrap the grip for you.

I had noticed that the grip seemed a little round. Do you know how much they charge to make it a better shape?

The whippyness I was reffering to wasn't gen2 swords in general, but the Irish specifically because it just seemed really light and the blade looked thin for a sword of that size.

Does anyone have any of these swords that they've weighed and know the actual weight if they vary from the advertised weight?

Oh and thanks for your input on the lucerne and the templar swords. I love the blade shape on the lucerne but if it is pretty lousy for cutting I might stay away from it because I imagine I'll be doing a lot for cutting stuff than stabbing stuff with it. How does the Gothic compare in cutting capability? Its blade is pretty pointy as well.

Oh yes, that is my DSA gothic two hander Brian did, thanks again Brian you rule! It is long, 48 inches, well balanced and a good weight. It is 3.6 pounds roughly 3lb 10.5 ounces or so give or take half an ounce. It is amazingly tight and tough sword without being too overbearing. It is actually quiet quick for such a beast! I'll let you know how it cuts when I get it back from Brian but DSA now does their swords to a 1mm false edge which means better cutting! Just don't get any of the older longswords unless you plan on using them soley for stage combat! They are good quality but will NOT make a good cutting sword. I own one, it is tough but the edges are too thick to make use of for bottle cutting! The LOTR swords are way too heavy too but the 1332 is as it should be. Only complaint, I wish the whole thing were a diamond cross section instead of having a fuller run halfway through the sword for historical reasons but other than that, it is perfect.



YES! I paid Brian considerably more than that to hand sharpen it! Pay the extra money! I ruined my 1340 Darksword with a smiths' sharpener! On a windlass with a thin edge it is okay but nothing beats hand filing! Don't learn the hard way like I did! Like Paul says, buy some POS stainless steel replicas and practice sharpenning them first then do a real blade. I wish I heeded this advice but I did not! The only other swords I suggest you look at possibly if you are willing to spend the money are Angus Trim swords. They don't come with a scabbard but they are the best martial artist swords for the price. Go to www.christianfletcher.com/Christian_Fletcher/Welcome.html and head over to the Atrim section and check out his stock! They are the ultimate European cutting sword for the money! Single handers are $450 and longswords are $550. Also, check it out myarmoury every once in a while you can steal a good deal on higher priced swords used in their market place! Another good midrange make, though I believe they come unshaprened, are Del Tins! They come with a 1mm false edge I believe. You can get them here at... www.arts-swords.com/CustomWork.asp



Not true, in the least bit for the Gothic sword he mentioned. DSA fittings have been good, it was the wooden core for the handels and scabbards that were bad. That is not true with the new line as Brian can attest. The new swords have glued on pommels which are actually very tight and well done. IF it were any other longsword, I'd agree on the weight issue but the 1332 is within acceptable weight considering its size. I don't know if Brian wants me stating publicly how much sharpenning cost but it was reasonable.

I have thought about it, it should be an XVIII, it has the right profile but the wrong cross section. It is a bastard of the XV types and I have looked at XVIAs. The closest sword type I can see it resembling are XVIIIBs except it has the wrong cross section. When you say fittings, it could mean pommel and crossguard too which are generally very well done on a DSA and the older swords with the screw on pommel aren't that big of a deal. They are when you first get it but after you play around with the pommel nut and some loc tite and get the pommel setteled in straight, it is tight. It is 3.6 so 3lb 9.5 ounces or so in that range. The Albion Regent is of similar heft and size so no it is not far off. This is a heavy duty war sword though. Though you are right about the older scabbard having some small rust on the metal pieces but we always knew they were an extra. The new scabbards are much thicker stronger cores with better quality metal fittings.

Longsword, I think this is what your are looking for.
www.armsofvalour.com/miva/graphics/00000001/at304s.jpg

This sword is exactly what you are asking for.
You can get it here.
www.armsofvalour.com/miva/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=AOVL&Product_Code=AT304S&Category_Code=MB

Ah yes I had totally forgotten about the VA Practical longsword, but I like that one very much too. It is definitely on my list for consideration.

Can anyone comment on the handling? It looks like its lighter than some of the others but the point of balance is pretty far out there.

Also does anyone know if it comes with a scabbard, because it doesn't seem to say.

It is very tempting to go for an angus trim, but I think that before I spend that much money on a sword I want to get several in the sub 300 range so that I have a better idea of EXACTLY what I want in a top quality sword.

It is light. The PoB is at 6 inches and it does have some very nice blade presence. Enough so that I had little problem doing a horizontal one handed cut against a large water bottle. I do like how it handles as a cutting sword very much. The weight makes the sword not feel has clunky in my hands like a lot of cutting swords tend to do. If I did not already have a del tin that is very similar, I would get one myself .

The templar does however have a much more authority when cutting however. If cutting things was my primary concern, I would pick this sword over the VA...but overall I like the VA better.

Thanks for the vid looks like that sword has no trouble at all with bottles. Have you tried mats? In shootermike's videos the first couple cuts on the mat don't cut all the way through.